Paint applying device



May 2, 1939. E. B. SMITH PAINT APPLYING DEVICE Filed Dec. 14, 1953 m .d M r) DECEASED.

Patented May 2, 1939 UNITED STATES 7 2,150,270 PAINT APPLYING DEVICE Edgar Ben Smith. deceased. late of Berwyn, 111.,

by Ella May Smith. Berwyn, Ill., administratrlx,'assignor to Arnold B. Carlson, Aurora,

Application December 14, 1933, Serial No. 702,371

4 Elaims. (Cl. -209) This invention relates to improvements in paint. applying devices, and more particularly to a device designed primarily for painting screens and fine wire mesh.

The object of. the invention is to provide a device especially adapted for this kind of work, in that the paint is spread evenly, quickly and easily over the surface without filling or filming the mesh, and its use does not require the exercise of any particular degree of skill on the part of the painter. The marked advantage of the present device over the ordinary long bristle paint brush is attributable'to the comparatively large area and shallow depth of the paint carrying and applying medium, which prevents the excessive deposit of paint at any one point, coupled with the fineness, flexibility and resiliency of the bristle-like fibers and a relationship between the length of bristles or fibers and the mesh of the screen which enables the former to penetrate or pass beyond the plane of the mesh and thereby prevent the formation of a film of. paint or penetrate and thereby remove any film that may form.

Manifestly the accomplishment of these results involves a departure from the ordinary paint brush and one that may be described as a mat or piece of woven pile fabric having a relatively short stout nap, applied to a suitable holder, or support, in the form of a block or frame with or without a suitable handle.

The most satisfactory material for the paintapplying medium is any standard make of socalled out carpeting such as Wilton, Velvet or the like, all of which have a long nap of the fine fibers projecting from a stout backing.

Having'disclosed the nature of the paintapplying medium, it only remains to describe. its preferred embodiment in a practical device,

one of such being disclosed in the accompanying drawing, in which Figures 1 and 2 are perspective views of. the device from different positions, and

Figure 3 is a view in cross section through the device as taken on line 22 of Figure 1.

As shown, the device consists of a rectangular piece of long nap carpeting I secured as by a.

suitable adhesive to a metal holder 2 consisting of a fiat rectangular plate 2 having an upstanding rib 2 extending lengthwise thereof to serve as a handle or grip. The holder is preferably stamped from sheet metal and the blank formed into the shape of a T, with the two lateral' extending branches forming the halves of the fabric backing plate 2 and the transverse date itself more readilyito the surface of the screen, which being more or less flexible itself, tends to bow or sag when pressure is applied to it. Thus when the device is pressed against the screen, the two halves of the backing plate are free to flex slightly, giving the applying surface a certain degree of convexity transversely of the handle. The rectangular piece of carpeting i when adhered to the holder 2 presents a fiat mat-like surface made of the fine hairs or fibers projecting; say, to of an inch beyond the edges of the marginal flange 3, and when dipped into paint and passed over the surface of a screen with a sweeping or brushing movement, a thin coating of the paint is transferred to the surface of. the wire without depositing an excessive amount at the point of initial application or requiring repeated stroking in order to spread the excess paint over the surface of the screen, as is' the case in using the ordinary style of brush. This is perhaps manifest from the fact that the paint is absorbed over a comparatively large surface area, and the fibers being short, only a small quantity of paint is distributed over each unit of surface area. And in this connection the paint is preferably dipped from a shallow .container rather than from the ordinary can,

so that the backing plate will not besubmerged, but rather the dipping confined to the depth of the projecting nap.

Thus as the dipped brush is rubbed over the screen surface, the short resilient fibers are not bent into parallelism with the wire mesh, but rather tend to project through the meshes and thus puncture any paint film that might tend to form, and even though there is a tendency for the fibers to bend in passing over a wire, they immediately become straight. In the ordinary long bristle brush on the other hand, the ends of the bristles tend to pass over the wires fiatwise without penetrating the meshes, with the result that a film of paint is drawn across them which can only be broken by going over the surface again with the brush practically dry.

For ordinary uses the device is designed'to have a paint-applying surface of, say, 5 inches in length by 3 inches in width, although it may be made in larger or smaller sizes. However, with ordinary care and cleaning after use, the surface will give satisfactory service for a long time. Naturally the paint will dry and harden in the nap if not cleaned after use, although by scraping the surface over the edge of the container most of the paint will be expelled, leaving it in suitable condition for further use without a thorough cleaning in a suitable paint solvent.

In connection with the .use of the device for screen painting purposes, it may be mentioned 5 thatit is admirably adapted for cleaning the screen of dust and dirt prior to the painting operation, the nap being freed of the accumulation of dirt by tamping before dipping it into the paint.-'

90 Having set forth a preferred embodiment of the invention, but without limiting it to the precise disclosure, what is claimed as new and novel is: v

1. A paint applying device for painting screens '25 and the like, comprising a substantially fiat rectangular plate having a handle on one side and a paint applying medium covering the surface on the opposite side thereof and consisting of a thick mat of relatively short stiif bristle-like fibres. 1

2. A paint applying device for painting screens and like mesh surfaces, comprising a plate member having a handle and a substantially flat working surface covered with a mat composed of a uniformly dense mass of short relatively stiff bristle-like fibres anchored in a foundation layer.

3. A pain applying device for painting screens and like wire mesh surfaces, comprising a fiat plate having a centrally disposed handle on one side and flanged about its edges to form a shallow recessed surface on its opposite side, and a paint applying medium composed of a uniformly dense mass of relatively short bristle-like fibres anchored in a layer of foundation material secured to said plate within said recess, with said fibres projecting beyond its flanged edges. 1

4. A paint applying device for painting screens and like mesh surfaces comprising a plate member having a handle and a substantially fiat working surface covered with a mat composed of a uniformly dense mass of short relatively stii! bristle-like fibres anchored in a foundation layer.

ELLA MAY SMITH,

Administratria: of the Estate of Edgar Bert Smith, Deceased. 

